Archive for Feb 28, 2013

When most people think about the state of California, several things come to mind. Things like good weather, beaches, and traffic to name a few. California also has a significant problem with air pollution leading the state to have some of the country's most stringent requirements for zero emissions and low emissions vehicles.

Out of all of the amazing wonders and phenomenon in space, one of the most amazing and perplexing is the black hole. A black hole has incredibly strong gravitational pull capturing everything from rock and gas to light. Nothing escapes a black hole.

Leap Wireless' sales of the iPhone have significantly under-performed, despite expectations that a prepaid iPhone 5 would be in hot demand, with $100m-worth of unsold stock expected by June. Leap's deal with Apple saw the iPhone 5 offered through Cricket Wireless at $500 with no ongoing commitment, but according to an 10-K SEC filing, the carrier predicts it will have only sold half of the expected units by the time the smartphone reaches its first birthday.

Back in November of last year, we talked a bit about the Stick-N-Find object tracking system. The system uses little Bluetooth-enabled stickers that you can adhere to just about anything from your keys to your smartphone to your notebook allowing you to find it if you lose it. The system also has a number of other functionalities allowing you to perform other tasks.

Ever since the rumor started floating around that Apple was working on its own smartwatch, companies have been rushing to get competing products to the market ahead of Apple. Some of the smartwatches that had turned up have been very interesting. Another new watch has turned up called the I'm Watch and bills itself as the world's first real smartwatch.

EA has announced something that a lot of gamers out there will not appreciate. EA CFO Blake Jorgensen was recently at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference and noted during a speech he gave the EA would be building micro-transactions into all PC and console games it makes. While some gamers like micro transactions, others see it as a sort of legalized way to cheat.

Retro arcade machines, an on-site print shop tongue-in-cheek known as "the propaganda wing", and the general feel of a dorm room: it can only be Facebook's HQ. The BBC took a video tour around the Silicon Valley headquarters of the social networking company, coming across the usual start-up must-haves of free bikes, meals, and even laundry facilities, wrapped up in a design attitude that attempts to channel Mark Zuckerberg's more humble origins despite the hundred-billion dollar floatation.

When it comes to Android smartphones Samsung makes some of the best out there. The company's Galaxy S III is one of the best smartphones on the market and has sold in huge numbers for Samsung. That smartphone is also one of the strongest competitors to the iPhone from Apple.

Weather can do some bizarre things here on Earth. From flooding to volcanoes to tsunamis, our planet has a lot of strange phenomenon that it can throw at us. A picture has been making the rounds of some very strange cloud formations over New Zealand. The first time I saw the photograph, I thought it was a Photoshop fake.

If you're an avid photographer or videographer using anything from a traditional camcorder to a sports camera such as a GoPro, SteadyWheel is something that might interest you. This large circular device appears to be approximately the size of a small steering wheel. The device is made from ABS plastic with small weights embedded around the rim.